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RELATION TO THE DIFFERENCES 



WHICH SUBSISTED BETWEEN 



! 

THE LATE COMMODORE O. H. PERRY , 



AXO 



CAPTAIN J. D. ELLIOTT. 



WASHINGTON 

1821. 



V 



E.3 5VS 



C^^a 






PREFACE. 



When the late Commodore Perry was about to sail on the cruise 
•>\Jiich terminated his valuable life, he requested Commodore Deca- 
tur to take charge of the following documents to keep Captain 
Elliott in check during his absence; and, if any accident happened to 
him while on his cruise, that they might be published, as the most 
effectual means which would then be left, of guarding his character 
against the baseness and falsehood of Captain Elliott. 

The original documents of which these arc copies, had all been 
transmitted to the Navy Department by Commodore Perry, some 
time before; but, in consequence of a great proportion of the necessary 
witnesses being on the Mediterranean station, a court-martial could 
not be convened prior to his sailing. 



Tlie lion. Benjamin W. Crowninshield, 

Secretary of the JWivy Department. 

Sir: I have the honor to lay hefore you copies of a letter hitely 
received by me from captain Jesse D. Elliott of tlie navy, and of cer- j 
tain certificates enclosed tiierein, with copies also of my lettei* in 
re|)ly, and of the affidavits of lieutenants Turner, Stevens, and Cliam- 
plin, and doctor Parsons. 

The conduct of captain Elliott partially presented to view in these 
papers, and still more clearly marked by other acts of that officer 
within my knowledge, and fully susceptible of ju'oof, imposes on me 
the duty of preferring against him the charges which accompany this 
letter; and I now accordingly do prefer said charges against captain 
Elliott, and i-equest that a court-martial may be ordered for his trial 
thereupon. 

The facts upon which some of these chai'ges are founded (particu- 
larly those relating to the behaviorof that officer during the engage- 
ment on Lake Erie) having been long in my possession, you will 
expect me to account for my not having sooner made them known to 
the government, and for having mentioned favorably, in my official 
report of that action, an officer whose conduct had been so repre- 
hensible. 

At the moment of writing that report, I did in my own mind avoid 
coming to any conclusion to wiiat cause the conduct of ca])tain 
Elliott was to be imputed; nor was I then fully acquainted with all 
the circumstances relating to it. Having previously to the engage- 
ment given all the orders wliicii I thought necessary to enable every 
officer to do his duty, and feeling confidonrc in them all, I was, after 
it commenced, necessarily too much engaged in the actual scene be- 
fore me to reflect deliberately upon the cause which could induce 
captain Elliott to keep his vessel so distant both from me and the 
enemy. And after the battle was won, I felt no disj)osition rigidly 
to examine into the conduct of any of the officers of the fleet; and, 
strange as the behaviorof captain Elliott had been, yctl would not 
allow myself to come to a decided opinion, that an officer who had so 
handsomely conducted himself on a former occasioii (as I then in 
common with the public had been led to suppose captain Elliott had) 
could possibly be guilty of cowardice or treachery. The subse- 
quent conduct also of captain Elliott; the readiness with which ho 
undertook the most minute services; the unfortunate situation in 
which he now stood, which he lamented to me, and his marked en- 
deavors to conciliate protection — were all well calculated to have 
their effect. But, still more than all, I w as actuated by a strong de- 
sire that in the fleet I then had the honor to command, there should 
be nothing but harmony after the victory they had gained, and that 
notliing should transpire which would bring reproach upon any part of 



it, OP convert into crimination the praises to which they were enti- 
tled, ;ind which I svishcd them all to share and enjoy. The difficul- 
ties produced in my mind by tltese considerations, were, at the time, 
fully expressed to an officer of the fleet in whom 1 had ,a;i"eat confi- 
dence. If 1 OMsitted to name captain Elliott, or named him v ithout 
cii'dit, ^ might not only ruin that officer, but, at the same time, give 
occasion to animadversions which, at that period, 1 thought would be 
little to the iionoror advantage of the service. If my official report 
of that transaction is reverted to, these embarrassments with i-espect 
to captain Elliott, muier which 1 labored in drawing it, will, 1 be 
lieve, be apparent. That report was vei-y different from what had 
heen expected by t!ie oiiicers of the fleet; but, having adopted the 
course which I thought most pi-udent to pursue with regard to cap- 
tain Elliott, I entreated them to acquiesce in it, and made every 
exertion in my pow r to prevent any further remarks on his conduct 

and even furnished him with a favorable letter or certificate for the 

same purpose, of which he has since made a very unjustifiable use. 

These, sir, are t!ie reasons which itiduced meat the time not to 
tring on an inrpiiry into his conduct. The cause and pi-opriety of ray 
Slow doing so will, 1 trust, recpiire hut few explanations. I would 
willingly, for my own sake as well as his, (after the course 1 had 
pursuedYor the purpose of shielding him) have still remained silent, 
but this, captain Elliott will not allow me to do. He has acted upon 
the idea, that by assailing my character he shall repair his own. 

After he was left in the command on Lake Erie, I was soon in- 
forrne:! of the intrigues he was tiiere practising, some of which are 
tletailed in these cbarges. Jliese I should not have regarded as long 
as they were private; but I then determined and declared to many of 
niv friends in the navy, that should captain Elliott ever give publici- 
ty to his misi-ppresentations, 1 would then demand an investigation of 
the wliole of iiis conduct. This necessity is now forced upon me. 
:' i5elie\ iiig my hands to he bound, and even braving me with the 
very certificate' afforded to him in charity, this officer at last ad- 
dresses directly to myself, and claims my ac»iuiescence in the grossest 
5nisroj)rcsentati()ns — not only of his own conduct on Lake Erie, but 
of con'(hi( t and declarations which he imputes to me. 

Thus has captain Elliott himself brought his own conduct on Lake 
Erie again into view, and, by involving with it imputations upon 
mine, itas compelled me to call for this inquiry. He can make no 
con\]»laint, tlK-refoie, of delay in bringing forward any of these 
charges. Tliose which regard his conduct on Lake Erie, and his 
justification, (if he has any) are besides as perfectly susceptible of 
proof now as at any earlier period. Whatever the character of that 
behavior was, it was witnessed by such numbers as to leave nothing 
in it equivocal or unexplained. Some of the officers who were with 
him may still be called upon, and although two or three others are 
deceased, yet so were they when captain Elliott himself called for a 
court of in«piirv. Certificates also were obtained from those offi- 
cei-s by captain EiJiott while living, the originals of which are in 



ihe Department, and it may be seen by them tliat those ofTicers, it 
present, would have no testimony to g^ive which couhl at all militate 
with these charges. There are as many oIKcers deceased IVora 
whose testimony captain Elliott would have much more to fear, than 
he would have to hope from that of the ofticers above alluded to. A 
court of inquiry consisting of three oilicers was once called at the 
request of captain Elliott, in consequence (if I recollect rightly) of 
some allusions to the conduct of the Niagara, sup])osed to be con- 
tained in the British connnodore Barclay's report; and though that 
inquiry (of which no notice to attend as witnesses was given to 
any of the commanders of vessels on Lake Erie) could only be a very 
limited one, and could involve no actual trial upon captain Elliott's 
conduct, yet he undoubtedly had before that court all such witnesses as 
could testify in his fas or, and the record of that testimony (if any of 
those witnesses are deceased) will avail him. Captain Elliott, there- 
foi-e, can suffer nothing from the lapse of time, and it would indeed be 
a strong pretension in him to claim protection from inquiry ijito his 
conduct, at the same time that he is giving notoriety to his' own re- 
presentations of it, and that too to the prejudice of others. 

I am, sir, fully sensible how troublesome the frequent examinations 
into the conduct of officers has been to the government, and how dis- 
agreeable they must have become. I am aware, also, that the public 
are justly dissatisfied with them, and tiiat reproach is brought uj)ou 
the service by means of them. I iiave, therefore, avoided asking for 
this investigation as long as I possibly could do so with any justice 
to the service, or to my own character. 

I have the honor to he, 
Sir, 
Your most obedient servant, 

0. II. PERRY. 



CHARGES 

Preferred by Captain Oliver 11. Pei-rij a^ninsf captain Jesse D. EUiotif 

of the United States A'avy. 

FIRST CHARGE. 

That the said captain Elliott having, on the 10th September, 181S, 
during the engagement on Lake Erie, between the Ameiican and Bri- 
tish fleets, before the eyes of the enemy, conducted himself in his 
command of the United States brig Niagara, in such a manner as to 
incur the repr-iaches of the American i'eet. and of the American 
army, then stationed in the neighborhood under the rommand of ma- 



jor general Harrison, and of the citizens of the surrounding country; 
and having, in this unfortunate situation, experienced from his com- 
manding officer all the relief, and the most friendly countenance and 
support, which, (without ahsolute inconsistency with truth,) it was 
in the power of that officer to afford him, was, as soon as left in the 
command on that Lake, and after the departui-e of his said command- 
ing officer, guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, 
by immediately entering upon and pursuing a series of intrigues, de- 
signed to repair his own reputation at the expense and sacrifice of his 
said commanding officer. 

Specification first. 

Because the said captain Elliott, on or about the month of Novem- 
ber, 1813, procured a certificate from lieutenant Smith, whom the said 
Elliott had attempted to dishonor, by representing him as guilty of 
misconduct during said engagement; which certificate was intended 
to reflect on the said captain Perry; insidiously to misrepresent his 
conduct during said engagement, and to impeach the truth of his offi- 
cial report thereof. And because, at or near the same time, the said 
captain Elliott procured a certificate to be signed by lieutenant Ed- 
wards, purser Magrath. doctor Parsons, and acting sailingmaster 
Webster, having the same import and design, and containing a per- 
verted statement of the conduct and language of the said captain Per- 
ry, when he came on board of the Niagara during said battle, al- 
though the said Elliott well knew that neither of the said officers 
were then present; that the said Edwards was on the forecastle, that 
the said Magrath was at the time absent from that vessel, and the 
said doctor and sailingmaster were in the cockpit, or elsew hei-e below, 
and could neither of them have had any personal knowledge of the 
pretended facts stated, which they could only have taken from the re- 
presentations of the said captain Elliott himself; which certificates, 
in such manner obtained, were, by the said captain Elliott, without 
notifying the said captain Perry, procured to be transmitted to the 
Secretary of the Navy, for the purpose of injuring the reputation of 
the said captain Perry in the opinion of the government. 

Specification second. 

Because the said captain Elliott, at Baltimore, in or about the 
month of January, 1815, in presence of captain Charles Ridgely, of 
the United States navy, did falsely, and with malice, represent the 
conduct of his said commanding officer in said engagement on 10th 
September, 1813; insinuating that, when the said commanding officer 
came on board of the Nia2;:ira during said batth>, he was in despair, 
and ready, to all appearance, to surrender the fleet; but the said com- 
manding officer, finding no reason to believe tliat he, the said captain 
EHiott, wtiuld consent to such a measure, tlic fight was renewed, and 
he. the said ca]>tain Elliott, cheered and reanimated his said com- 



mantling officer. And, at Lake Ei'ic, on or about the month of Ja- 
nuary, 1814, in the ])rosence of lieutenant Concklin, did make tht 
same, or similar, false imputations upon the conduct of his said com- 
manding otiiccr. I 

Sjiedjication third. 

That lie, the said captain Elliott, during the months of October and 
November, 1813, repeatedly stated to doctor Wallace, of Erie, and 
to others, that his said commanding otlicer had, under the influence 
of fear or despair, tliiown overboaid hisjlag, called the motto-Jlag, 
which had been prepared by captain Perry to excite and encoui'agc 
his men — containing the dying words of Lawrence, after whom tUb 
ship was named, '• don't give up the ship," and the said flag had been 
picked up by another oflicei-; which said assertions, said Elliott knew 
to be false, and that said flag was still flying on board of the Law 
rence w hen captain Perry left that vessel, and was never lost ox 
thrown overboard by any one. 

Spccijicationfonrtfu 

That the said Elliott, about the month of September, 1813, made 
or procured to be made and exhibited to some of the officers, a false 
di-awing or sketch of the battle of the lOth September, 1813, in whicl 
drawing he placed himself in the Niagara, and in the Somcrs, in 
positions of danger and service he never had occupied during the en 
gagement: and lepresented other vessels, which had gallantly foughl 
and distinguished themselves, in situations distant from the scene o: 
action, and as rendering no service. 

Specification fifth. 

That, on or about the 22d October, 1813, at Erie, he, the said 
captain Elliott, in presence of genei'al Harrison, asserted that he, 
the said Elliott, was in close action dui'ing the wliole of said en- 
gagement; tliat tlie said captain Perry had done him injustice iii 
not so stating in his ollicial report; and that said Perry had promis- 
ed, before said oiHcial report was despatched, to alter that part of i1 
to which he, the said Elliott, objected, but had failed to do so; all 
which representations he, the said Elliott, knew to be wholly without 
truth. 

Specification sixth. 

Because the said captain Elliott, at Erie, in the months of Novem- 
ber and December, 1813, and, from that time, until he left the station 
at Lake Erie, about the month of May, 1814; and, also, at Buffalo, 
during the same period, and particularly in Novembei-and December, 
1813, did. ill a manner calculated to bring contempt and reproacli 



pon his profession, and upon the service, continually assail and bc- 
t * '*'i^ •(!( abitants of those towns, and the vicitiity. (especially those 
nost ignorant, and easily imposed upon,) with veibal accounts and 
lescriptions of the en^gagement of 10th September on Lake Erie, des- 
itiit<' of all ti'uth, ?nd calculated to reflect on the said capt. Perry; 
ind falsely to assume to himself a priocipal share in the victory ob-= 
ained on said Lake. 

Specification seventh. 

Because the said Elliott, at Lake Frie, on or about the 28th Octo- 
ber, ISiii, did descend to various unmanly acts, in order to prevail 
ipon lieutenant I'urner to give him such a certificate of good con- 
lurt, in the engagement of the it)th September, as he knew could not 
le given with truth; and, although lieutenant Turner not only re- 
listed his importunities, hut shewed a strong repugnance to giving 
dm any certificate whatever, yet the said captain Elliott pursued and 
irged him; and, finally, appealed to his feelings, by saying that the 
nifavorable reports of his conduct, during the said battle, had come 
;o the ears of his wife, had rendered her unhappy, and declaring, up- 
)n his honor, that, if lieutenant Turner would give him a certificate, 
le would make no other use of it than as a means of allaying her un- 
jasiness; and, by such unworthy means, the said captain Elliott suc- 
ceeded in extorting from said lieutenant Turner such a certificate as 
;hat gentleman hoped he might venture to give for such an occasion. 

r 

Specijication eighth. 

" Because the said Elliott, in the months of October and November, 
18 13, resorted to unbecoming acts and persuasion, in oiderto prevail 
)n other odicers, then un«ler his command, (particularly sailingmas- 
cers Champlain, Brownell, and M'Donald,) to give him certificates 
)f good conduct in said engagement of 10th September, so contrary 

fto their opinions, that all, or most of them, refused to give any such 

j certificate. 

Specijication ninth. 

Because the said captain Elliott, at Erie, on or about the 1 0th No- 
vember, 1813, in a manner derogatory to tlie character of an Ame- 
rican otticer, questioned some of the Bi-itish ofticcrs, then prisoners, 
of whom he had the charge, (particularly lieutenant Bignall,) rela- 
tive to his, the saidcaj)tain Elliott's, conduct in the late engagement, 
and for the purpose of obtaining from them a favorable declaration 
of his having been in close action in the Niagara during said engage- 
ment. 



Specification tenth. 

Because the said captain Elliott, on the night of the 19th Sopteni' 
hfiw on Lake Erie, (having- first, in a previous interview, excited thcl 
compassion of his commanding officer, by lamenting the injury hisl 
cluiiacter had sustained, and declaring that he had lost the finest op- 
portunity that ever man had of distinguishing himself,) did address 
to tiiesaid officer a note in the style of friendly solicitation, calculat- 
ed to produce in his favor, from said officer, an expression of the I 
friendly disposition and wish to relieve the said captain Elliott, ma- 
nifested by tliat officer in said interview; and did afterwards, in the 
£ric Gazette of 1st November, 1813, cause a false copy of said note 
(of his) to be published? by which, said note was made to assume a 
different tone and import; and did, also, at the same time, cause to 
be published, in said Gazette, the friendly letter or certificate of his 
said commanding officer as being a reply thereto. 

All which practices, stated in the foregoing specifications, were 
resorted to by the said captain Elliott, after his commanding officer 
had exerted, to his utmost personal influence with the officers of the 
fleet and others, for the purpose of skreening the said captain Elliott 
from the consequences of his conduct during said engagement; and 
had, in drawing his official report of that engagement, studiously la- 
bored to devise some jiardonable mode of representing that transaC" 
ti ;n, by which he might be able, happily, to get over the objection- 
able part of said Elliott's conduct on that day, and, at the same 
time, to name him with credit and honor. 

Specification eleventh. 

Because the said captain Elliott did, on the 14th May, 1818, ad- 
dress to the said caj)tain Perry a letter, enclosing therein, as the 
cause of said letter, copies of certain certificates, stating expressions, 
alleged to have been made use of by captain Perry, towards the said 
captain Elliott, without calling uj)on the said captain Perry to avow, 
deny, or explain, or justify said expressions, descending to the most 
unmanly and vulgar abuse. In which said letter, also, the said csp. 
tain Perry is represented wholly without truth, as having declared ta 
ca])tain Elliott, at Eiie, that, if he would not dwell on tht action, 
be, the said Perry, would write a private letter to the honorable Se- 
cretary of the Navy, and express his surprise that ilie countiy did not 
give him, the said captain Elliott, lialf the honor of the victory, and, 
tn the same letter, the said Elliott again misrepresented the style and 
import of his said note, mentioned in the last specification, giving it 
the tone of a categorical demand upon the said captain Perry, to con- 
tradict the reports which were put in circulation prejudicial to the 
character of the said captain Elliott; as if he, the naid captain Elli- 
ott, would insinuate, that, at the time of writing of the said note, he 
considered said reports to have been put in circulation by the said 
captain Perry, and that he accordingly called upon him, in said note, 
to contradic^thein. 



CHARGE SECOND. 

I 

i L'ond'jct unbecoming .in officer, and manifesting disregard of the 
iljonor of the American flag. 

I Specification Jirst. 

Because the said captain Elliott, about the 1st of October, 1813, 
on boai'd the gunboat Scorpion, commanded by sailingmaster Champ- 
lin, then on lake St. Clair, in the presence of said Champlin, in- 
tempei-ately and unjustly abused the said captain Perry, his said 
commanding officer on lake Erie, and expressly declared that he had 
liad it in his power to destroy the fleet, and the said Perry with it, 
and he only regretted that he had not done so; and further there de- 
clared, that the officers and men of tlie Lawrence were not entitled to 
prize money, on account of the vessels of the enemy captured on 
lake Erie, but that the officers and crews of the other vessels of the 
American fleet were entitled to prize money for the recapture of the 
Lawrence. And because the said captain Elliott did again, at Buffa- 
lo, in November and Decembei*, 1813, publicly express the same 
wish, that he had saci'ificed the American fleet on lake Erie, tog; ther 
with the said captain Perry, its commandei-. 

Specification second. 

Because the said captain Elliott, at Erie, on or about the 26th 
October, 1813, declared, in the presoice of Dr. Wallace of that 
place, that it would be a serious question between the two govern- 
ments (meaning the American and British) whether captain Perry 
was not to be considered as a prisoner of war. 

Specijication tlurd. 

Because the said captain Elliott, in tiie month of November, 1813, 
at Erie and at Butfalo, asserted publicly, that the American flag, for 
the first time since the declaration of war, had been disgraced on 
board the Lavvience, (meaning that such disgrace had been incurred 
by that vessel, in the engagement on 10th September, on lake Erif.)j 

Specijication fourth . 

Because the said Elliott, at Eric, in the months of October and 
November, 1813, declared, in presence of Dr. Wallace of that place, 
and others, that the American fleet had gained no honor in the en 
gagcment on the 10th September on lake Erie, and that, from the 
superiority offeree, the British fleet might have been taken in fifteer 
minutes; although he, the said captain Elliott, well knew that thf| 
force of the enemy, in that engagement, was superior to that of th(j 
\mericau fleet. 



CHARGE THIRD. 

That the said captain Elliott was guilty of oppression towards 
certain officers and men under his command on lake Eric. 

Specification first. 

Because the said captain Elliott, on lake Erie, on or about thti 
month of January, 1814, put lieutenant Concklin under arrest, with- 
out any other cause than that the said lieutenant Concklin went out! 
of said captain Elliott's cabin, declaring to him that he would notj 
remain there to hear such reflections upon the character of captain] 
Perry, as were then made by the said captain Elliott, which reflcc 
tions are stated in the second preceding specification, first charge. 

Specification second. 

Because the said captain Elliott violently beat with a trumpet ontj 
of the men on board of the gunboat Somers. for laughing when htl 
perceived, or supposed, the said captain Elliott to dodge a chain 
shot, which happened to pass over that vessel, near to captain El| 
liott, during the engagement of 10th September, 1813. 

Specification third. 

Because the said captain Elliott, during the months of Xovembel 
and December, 1813, while left in command on lake Erie, took ever;! 
opportunity of manifesting an unjust hostility towards the survivinjj 
officers and men of the Lawrence, and particularly towards such offil 
cers of the fleet as had declined giving him certificates of good coni 
duct; on all occasions selecting such officers and men for the mosj 
severe duties, and placing them in the most uncomfortable situationsj 
in such manner as to excite the observation of the whole fleet. 

CHARGE rOLRTH. 

That the said captain Elliott, on the 10th September, 1813, bel 
ing then a master commander in the navy of the United States, anj 
commanding the United States' brig Niagara, one of the America! 
squadron on lake Erie, did not use his utmost exertion to carry intj 
execution the orders of his commanding officer to join in the battlj 
on that day between the American and British fleets. 

Specification of the fourth charge. 

Because the American squadron having sailed, in search of til 
enemy, a few days previous, the following orders and instructioil 
were issued by the commanding officer, viz: ist — An order directirj 
in what manner the line of battle should be formed3 the several vessel 



to keep within half cable's length of each other, andenjoinin,^ it up(^n 
the commanders to preserve their stations in the line, and, in ail cases, 
to keep as near to the commanding officer's vessel, the Lawrence, as 
'possible^ 2d — An order of attack^ in which order the Lawrence was 
'designated to attack tiie enemy's new ship, (aOerwards ascertained 
to have been named the Detroit,) and the Niagara, commanded by the 
^said captain Elliot, designated to attack the enemy's siiip "■ Queen 
Charlotte;" which orders were then communicated to all the com- 
manders, including the said caj)tain Elliott, who, for that purpose, 
and to receive further orders and instructions, were, by signal, called 
together by the said commanding ofticcr, and all the said commanders, 
including the said captain Elliott, were then, by the said command- 
'ing officer, expressly further instructed, that " if, in the expected en- 
•:^agemcnt, they laid their vessels close along side of those of the 
linemv, thev could not be out of their wav." 3d — When comins: into 
'iction, an order was passed, by trumpet, for tlie vessels astern to close 
'ip in the line; and, after the enemy had commenced firing, the sigiial 
',vas made, by the said commanding othcer, for the fleet to come into 
'iction, each vessel against her opponent, as before designated; yet 
'lid he, the said captain Elliott, iiotwithstanding said orders, and in 
^'iolation thereof, keep his said brig, the Niagara, nearly a mile's dis- 
':ancc astern of the Lawrence, and a still greater distance fi'om 
'he whole of the enemy's fleet, during more than two hours of the 
!»attle, although but a few moments before its commencement he was 
'vithin hail of the Lav.rence, and might with ease have followed that 
'"essc'l into close action, instead of which he, the said captain Elliott, 
ailed to come into close action and to engage the enemy's ship the 
^ueen Charlotte, as he was bound to do by said order and by the 
xample of the commanding officer's vessel, and did remain, during 
he wliole period before meutioiunl, at such a distance from the enemy 
's to i-ender all the guns of the Niagara useless, except two long ones, 
vhich, consequeritly, were the osily guns fired from thatvcsssl during 
^11 the said tiuic, and by whicli, at so great a distance, but little, if any, 
-Rect upoji the esiemy coiild be produced; of which miscondtict and 
^rcach of ordei-s the said captain Elliott was guilty, without any 
-ecessity, cause, or excuse, his said, vessel being, in all rcs})ects, in 
ize, foice, equipment and crew, and sailing, fully equal to the Law- 
cnce and the sliip slie was ordered to engage; and, being also to the 
indward of the enemy, said vessel could not easily have been kept 
ut of close action, unless the said captain Elliott had, for that jmr- 
hse^ kept, as he did, her main top-sail aliack and her jib brailed up; 
•y doing which, and by keeping the wind, instead of bearing down 
fpon the enemy, he, the said captain Elliot, finally carried his said 
'esscl on the outside of the Lawrence and Caledonia, placing those 
•essels between him and the enemy, and was, when his said comman- 
'ig oflicer went on board that vessel, keeping her on a course bv the 
J ind, which would, in a few minutes, have carried said vessel entirely 
it of the action, to prevent which, and in order to bring the said 
3ssel into close action with the enemy, the said commanding officer 



was under the necessity of heavin.i^ to and inmicdiately wearing said 
vessel and altering iier course at least eight points. 



CHARGE FIFTH. 

That the said captain Elliott, on the 10th September, 1813, being 
Then commander of the United States' brig Niagara, one of the 
American squadron 0}f Lade Erie, through cowardice, negligence, or 
disaffection, did not, in the action on said Lake on that day between 
the American and British fleets, do his utmost to take or destroy the 
vessel of the enemy which it was his duty to encounter. 

Specification. 
(Same as to charge fourth.) 

CHARGE SIXTH. 

That the said captain Elliott, in said engagement on Lake Erie, on 
the said 10th of September, through cowardice, negligence, or disaf- 
fection, did not do his utmost endeavor to afford relief to the United- 
States' brig Lawrence. 

Specifcation. 

(Same as to charges 4th and 5th, with the following addition:) 

In consequence of which conduct of the said captain Elliott, the 
enemy's said ship the Queen Charlotte, was enabled to unite her 
force with that of the Detroit against the Lawrence^ instead of pre- 
venting which, or affording any assistance to said brig Lawrence, the 
said captain Elliott left that vessel, her officers and crew, (eighty- 
three of whom were killed or wounded,) a sacrifice to the enemy, 
although his, the said captain Elliott's, vessel remained perfectly un- 
injured, with not more than one or two of his men (if any) wounded, 
while captain Elliott continued on board of her. 

0. H. PERRY. 

Mgust 8, 1818. 



Copij of Lieutenant Turner'' s affida-ciu 

In the battle of the 10th September, 1815, on lake Erie, between 
)hc American squadron cominanded by commodore Perry and the 
British squadron under commodore Barclay, the action began when 
the two squadrons were about a mile apart, by a firing commenced 
by the enemy; the signal having been made by commodore Perry, for 
our vessels to engage as they came up, each against the enemy's ves- 
sel, as designated in previous orders, which made the Queen Charlotte 
the antagonist of the Niagara, commanded by captain Elliott. It 
w as understood by the American officers before the fight, that it was 
captain Perry's intention to bring the enemy to close action as soon 
as possible. The Law rence accordingly closed with the Detroit very 
soon. The Queen Charlotte made sail for the purpose of assisting 
the Detroit. The Niagara might have relieved the Lawrence from 
the Queen Charlotte's lire, if she had made proper exertions to bring 
her to close action; but, by keeping her maintop-sail aback and her 
jib brailed up, she kept at too great a distance from the enemy to do 
him any material injury, and sustained scarcely any herself until the 
commmiore took command of her, who immediately bore up and past 
through the enemy's line, firing both his broad sides with such tre- 
mendous effect, as compelled him instantly to surrender. 

It was the general opinion of the American officers, and expressed 
with much indignation, that captain Elliott did not do his duty in the 
battle, as a gallant and faithful officer; inasmuch as he did not bj-ing 
his vessel, as soon as he might have done, into close action, which 
circumstance onlii, made the result of the battle for a short time 
doubtful. Soon after the victory, cai)tain Elliott's conduct was 
spoken of, as well in general Harrison's army, as in the fleet, with 
great disapprobation and censure. Captain Perry lieard of it, and 
's])oke to me of it one evening; said that he was sorry reports were in 
circulation so ruinous to captain Elliott's reputation — wished they 
might be silenced, and desired me to go on shore to the camp, and do 
all tliat I could, with propriety, to counteract them — I did so accord- 
ingly the next morning. lie said the American flag had gained much 
honor that day, and he wished all his companions in battle to share it 
w ith him. Several weeks after this, caj)tain Perry told me that cap- 
tain Elliott wislied him to alter that i)art of his official report which 
stated that the Niagara did not, until a late period of the engagement, 
get into close action — and asked me wiictlier I thought that part of 
iiis report incorrect, as it had been agreed to leave tlie question to be 
decided by two commissioned officers of the fleet, (lieutenant Ed- 
^vards, who wfis present, and myself being the officers selected,) I 
answered, I thought that \vAYi of his official report was entirely cor- 
rect, to which lieutenant Edwards assented. 



Some time after captain Verry left the lake, ami when the squadrou 
was under captain Elliott's command, he ajjplicxl to me and repeat- 
edly urged me to give him a certidcate i-cspecting his conduct in the 
battle. He said that his only reason for wisliing one, was to have it 
in his power to calm his wife's uneasiness, who had heard tliat his 
conduct had been questioned; aiid declared to me, upon his iionor, that 
he would make no other use of it than as a means of i-elievinic her 
nnhappiness. Thus delicately and uni)leasantly situated, I wrote such 
a certificate as I thought 1 miglit, for such an occasion, venture to give 
captain Elliott. 

DAN. TURNER. 

Sworn to before, 

HOLMES WE.WER, Jus. Peace. 



Copy of doctor Parson's affidavit. 

In the action of the 10th September, 1813, on lake Erie, I was 
stationed in the w ardroom of the Lawrence, to act as surgeon. I well 
recollect, that the wounded, from the first of their coming down, com- 
plained that the Niagara (commanded by captain Elliott,) did not 
come up to her station and close with the Queen Charlotte, although 
he had been ordered by signal; and this complaiiit was frequently 
repeated by them) till the Lawrence struck, and repeatedly by lieu- 
tenants Brooks, Yarnall, and Claxton. It was at the same time 
observed, that the Caledonia was in close action, while the Niagara, 
a faster sailer, was quite out of the reach of the enemy. After the 
action closed, the censures upon captain Elliott's conduct were so 
general and severe, not only among the Lawrence's officers, but those 
of the small vessels, that in writing to my friends, the day following, 
I did not hesitate to say, that cajjtain Elliott had disgraced himself 
in tiie action; and the same sentiment was expressed in the letters 
of every officer onboard who was able to write. These letters were on 
the point of being sent, whoi Mr. Hambleton, who had just had a 
private interview with commodore Perry, told us the commodore 
Avished us to be silent on captain Elliott's condxrcti that whatever 
might have been the appearances during the action, he was then un- 
willing, after its happy result, to destroy an officer of his rank; and 
that honor enough had been gained by the action, to permit of its 
being shared by every one engaged in it. 

This request of commodore Perry was complied with, as far as was 
practicable; one of Mr. Yarnall's letters, however, iiad slipt from 
his hands before this message was received — and was published. 

The second day after the action, I attended the wounded of the 
Niagara, (the surgeon of that vessel having been sick,) and out of 
3 



twenty cases, not more than one or two, said they were wounded while 

caj>tain Elliot was on board the ship. On board all the small vessels 

which captain Elliott brouj^ht up towards the close of tlie action, the 

1 number of killed and wounded did not exceed two or three. The 

l,number of killed and wounded on board the Lawrence, before she 

(Struck, was eighty -three. . 

I, In conversation witli two officers of the Queen Charlotte, a short 
itimc after the action, 1 asked them why the Queen directed her fire 
iWhollyupon the Lawrence instead of the Niagara? He replied *'be- 
, cause the Niagara was so far off we could not injure her." 
I From all these facts, and others, the officers of the Lawrence and 
jof some of the other vessels, felt exceedingly disappointed and dis- 
),pleased with the official report of commodore Perry, on account of 
I the honorable mention there made of captain Elliott. TVe have, 
1 nevertheless, been willing to believe that the error proceeded from the 
I best motives. 

I Midshipman Lenox, who commanded one of the small vessels, has 
I repeatedly told me that captain Elliott had said, in his presence, in 
I Buffalo, that he regretted he did not sacrifice the fleet, when it was in 
his power, and captain Perry with it. 

; USHER PARSONS. 

1; Sworn to before me, 

1 HOLMES "WEAYER, Just. Peace. 



Letter from Captain Elliott^ to Captain Perry, [no date affixed.] 

Sir: Communications which have recently been made me. and ex- 
act copies of which I herewith enclose you, render it necessary that 
I should hear from you immediately. As soon as I heard of your 
late visit to Washington, I lost no lime in hurrying off" fi'om this place, 
with a hope that we siiould meet, and settle those differences which 
have so long existed; jour sudden, and to me unexpected, departure 
from that city, prevented the contemplated meeting; and my orders 
to sit on a couit martial, in Baltimore, which detained me from this 
place longer than I at fiist expected, has induced me to return to 
Virginia, and instead of the personal interview, which had alone car- 
ried me from home, and which I had so anxiously hoped for would 
'itake i)lace, now compels me to addiess you at a moment when I 
'might seem if prompted by the late public investigation of your Me- 
''diterranean command. 

'i The wrojygs which I have suffered are many; and after taking a 

'retrosi)ect of all tlie transactions connected with our affairs which 

have been made public, 1 am at a loss to know how^it was possible 



you could have made such representations as are contained in th 
certificates herewith ench)scd. Innncdiately after the action on Lak 
Erie, you must recollect, that reports prejudicial to my charade 
were put in circulation,- when I called on you for a written contra 
diction of them, (your auswei-, I presume, is in your i)ossession) yo 
say in your letter, " You have no fault to find with myself, officers 
and crew — compliment me by saying, you arc indebted in a giea 
measure for the victory, my bringing the small vessels into close ac 
tion," and conclude, with a positive assertion, that the Niagara would 
from her superior order, have taken the Queen Charlotte in twent; 
minutes, had she not made sail and engaged the Lawrence. 

What sir, has since occurred, to draw from jou such base, false 
and malicious reports, as contained in the certificates enclosed? 
will conclude my remarks with one or two observations, and permi 
you to draw such inferences as your feelings of honor may dictate 
hoping, that you will never again have occasion, either in the societ; 
of the ladies, or that of young navy oflicci-s, to make use of expres 
sions of a similar nature, and which, too, intended to my injury 
Pray sir, has your memory been so treachei-ous, as to fail recollectiuj 
an interview at Erie, and that you then said, '*if I would not dwel 
on the action, that you would write a private letter to the Hon. Se 
cretary of tiie Navy, and express your surprise that the country die 
not give me half tiie honor in the victory?" 

Vv ith proper respect, 

J. D. ELLIOTT, 

Captain 0. H. Pbrry, &c. 



Copies of the Ccriifcates alhided to in the foregoing Letter. 

Norfolk, February 2, 1819. 

Sir: In conversation with some of tlic oflicers of the U. S. shif 
Washington, your name was mentioned, in connection with theactiot 
on Lake Ei'ie*, when lieutenant W. B. Slnihiick observ«fd, that cap- 
tain Perry had publicly said vour reputation was in his hands, and 
that the least you and your friends can say ou the sui)ject of that ac- 
tion, the better ff>r you. 

1 at the same time said I was your friend, and as soon as an oppor- 
tunity presented, would make known to you the assertion which is 
now communicated. 

\V. IL BRECKENRIDGE. 

To Captain JrssE D. Elliott, 

I certify that the above is a tru." copy of the original, whirh I have 
seen in the possession of captain Elliott. 

GEORGE T. RENNON. 

Miy I. IS 18. 



I-*, 



"Washington-, Fehruary 27, 1818. > 

Siu: You having called on me for some assertions made by captaiu 
erry, I can only state, that some time in the year 1813 I saw com- 
'lodore Perry in New York, and mentioned I had received a letter 
•^rom captain Elliott respecting the engagement on Lake Erie. 
I Commodore Perry replied, that captain Elliott had better be quiet 
^ n that subject; that he had understood other letters had been writ- 
'en by him to his friends. 

1 The above conversation between commodore Perry and myself has 
lever been directly or indirectly mentioned by me to captain Elliott. 
I ntil called upon by him here. 
i JOHN HALL. 

'; I certify the above is a true copy of the original, which I have seen 

'ii the hands of captain Elliott. 

"' G. T. KENNON. 

'i Hospital Surgeon, Gosport. 



';' To the Post Master, Erie Station, JVew Fork, for Captain Elliott. 

■ japtaiii Klliott's jiartirnlar station not hein^ known at this time, you are requested 

. to forward the enclosed to liini in such manner as it will be sure to reach him, and 

you will oblige his friend, M. G. U. RUSSELL.] 

It is with the deepest i-egret tliat the fi-iends of merit observe how 
iiuch you have been overlooked in the late engagement on Lake Erie. 
Ton are bound, in justice to yomsclf, to lay before your country and 
ilie world your own share of the glory of tliat day. You may rest 
Assured that Pcj-ry is endeavoring to rob you of all. I have a cor- 
l|cspondent who resides in Newport, and who heard Perry say, in a 
'[rivate circle, when he was representing the action, that when he went 
•.n ho;ird the Niagara, he found you pale and trembling like an aspin 
ipaf, and all your olticcrs, and that it was with dilKculty he could get 
i(ou to obey liis coniiiiaiids. Altiiough I have not the honor of your ac- 

(uaintanco, I IVel Ijouiid, by my attiirhnicnt to worth and gallantry, 
ij) give you this infornuitiot?, trusting to your honor as a gentleman 
'•'nd oilicer not to betrav me: f;)r mv friends would hiijhlv condemn 
ij stej) of the kind, and Perry, too, knows my hand writing. But I 
'jpel confident you will coniinc this information to your own breast; 
•ii; is only for yoin- benefit that I give it. 

!ii It woul' aRbrd nic nuicii pleasuje to know that you have received 
'i lis in safety. If you wish to acknowledge the receipt, direct to 
!(Miss Mary G. R. Russeil, Petersburg, Virginia." 

I 



Captain Ferry*s reply to Captai7i Elliott. 

Newport, (Rhode Island,) June 18, 1818. 

Sir: The letter which I liave lately received from you has evi- 
dently been written for the purpose of being exhibited to your frieids, 
and in the hope that, passinji^ without reply, it might gain crc«iit 
among those ujmn whom you have been long in the habit of practising 
similar impositions. You had much reason, sir, to indulge in such a 
hope. 

It is humilijiting to he under the necessity of replying to any letters 
written by a person w ho so little knows what becomes a gentleman. 
I must not, however, permit you to derive from my silence any cciun- 
tenance to the gross falsehoods contained in your letter, and which 
it would be an affectation of decorum to call by any other name; such, 
particularly, is the absurd declaration you impute to me in the close 
of it, and the perverted account you give of the manner in which I 
was once induced to write a letter in your favor. How imprudent, 
as well as base, it is in you, by such misrepresentations, to reduce 
me to the necessity of reminding you of tlie abject cojidition in which 
I liad previously found y<»u, and by which 1 was moved to allord you 
all the countenance in my power; sick (or pretending to be sick) in 
bed, in consequence of distress of mind, dcclai'ing that you had miss- 
ed the fairest opportunity of distinguishing yourself that ever man 
had, and lamenting so piteously Mie loss of your reputation, that I 
was prompted to make almost any effort to relieve you from the 
shame which seemed to overwhelm you. This, you \Qvy well know, 
was the origin of the certificate I then granted you; and that your 
letter to me, (of wiiicli you once fuiiiislied a faise copy for publica- 
tion, and which you now represent as making a demand upon me,) 
was merely an introduction to mine. Another motive I had, which 
you could not appreciate, but which I ui'ged with success on the other 
officers: it resulted tVom a strong, and 1 then hoped pardonable, de- 
sire that the public eye might only rest upon the gallant conduct of 
the fleet, and not be attracted to its blemishes, as I feared it would be 
by the irritation excited by your conduct among the oilicers and -nen, 
most of whom, I hoped, had acquired suihcient honor to gratify their 
ambition, even should that honor be shared by some one who might 
less deserve it. 

The expi'essions stated in your two certificates to have been made 
use of by me, when speaking of your unmanly conduct, were proba- 
bly the most lenient I have for a long time employed v, hen called 
upon to express my opinion of you; and, thoroughl} known as, yon 
must be conscious, your character is to me, it was quite needless for 
you to have procured certificates of the contempt with which I l:ave 
spoken of you. You might readily, however, have furnished much 
more ample ones, and of a much earlier date, than those it has suit- 
ed you to produce; for you allowed but little time to elapse, after re- 
ceiving the benefits of my letter, before your falsehoods and intrigues 



against me made me fully sensible of the error I iiatl committed in 
endeavoring to prop so unprincipled a ciiaracter. 

If it be really true that you hurried to Washington for the purpose 
of inviting me to a meeting, it is indeed unfortunate that intentions 
for which you give yourself so great credit have evaporated in a piti- 
ful letter, which none but a base and vulgar mind could have dictated. 
The reputation you have lost is not to be recovered by such artifices; 
it was tarnished* by your own behaviour on Lake Erie, and has con- 
stantly been rendered more desperate by your subsequent folly and 
habitual falselioods. You cannot wonder at the loss : that reputation 
which has neither honor nor truth nor courage for its basis must ever 
be of short duration. Mean and despicable as you have proved 
yourself to be, 1 shall never cease to criminate myself for having de- 
viated fiom the path of strict propriety, for the sake of skreening you 
from public contempt and indignation. For this offence to the com- 
munity I will atone, in due time, by a full disclosure of your dis- 
graceful conduct. But that you, of all men, should exultingly charge 
me with an error committed* in your favoi-, and by which you wore 
(as far as a man in your situatioji could be) saved from disgrace, is 
a decree of turnitude of which I had before no conception. 

^^ ^ 0. H. P. 



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